11.05.2012

Moody Blue Powder Room Reveal

Hello!

I hope you all had a great weekend and put that extra hour from daylight savings to good use. I don't like the early darkness at all, but the extra hour of sleep was lovely. Still thinking about all of you on the east coast who are affected by Hurricane Sandy, especially now that it's going to get darker even earlier. Hoping and praying for electricity first, with recovery to follow quickly.

But, I'm happy to report that the powder room I gave you a sneak preview of last week is DONE! The delay is due to my late-in-the-game decision to add crown molding, after I had already painted the bathroom. Note: Do the crown molding BEFORE painting and save yourself some headaches.

Without further delay, let's get on with the pictures!

The color I chose is "Gentleman's Gray" by Benjamin Moore. I absolutely love it. I had originally wanted "Hague Blue" by Farrow & Ball, but 1) it's not available around here and 2) it's about $120 a gallon. This was a very close second, and fell in love with it the moment I opened the can of paint. It's really that pretty.

I decided to add a gallery wall in here because we had a lot of artwork around the house that hadn't been hung on the walls. It's funny, this house is larger than our old house, but the wall space is a lot different since it's very open. So, I went around the house and picked up some pieces that were already hung and others that weren't, and hatched a plan by laying it all out on the floor first. After many rearrangements and adjustments, I ended up with this.

It worked out well, because I had a great blueprint to reference as I was putting everything up on the walls.

TIP: Here is my high tech tool that really makes quick work of a gallery wall.

Yes, it's a stick with a screw in it. Here's the trick - when you're hanging a picture, and you're not sure where exactly you want it, you use this as your guide. Pretend you're hanging your picture on the wall, but hang it on the screw instead.

Then position the picture where you want it, and press on the picture so that the screw makes an indentation in the wall. Then, nail your picture hook on the wall and hang your picture!

I had a couple of gaps, so I picked up the wooden key and the mirror at TJ Maxx. I love how they add another layer of interest and dimension to the wall, and I love that they were cheap - $10 each!

Plus, the key picks up on the geometric pattern in the rug - totally accidental, but it looks like it was by design, doesn't it?

I admit it, I'm a cheater on the crown molding - I used the corner pieces to avoid having to do mitre cuts. I tried, I really did, but I am still not getting it. I think I need an intervention - the only way I'm going to learn is to have someone show me, in person, how to do it. My husband just got a double-bevel compound mitre saw, and is convinced this is the key in doing crown molding. Maybe it has magic powers or something. But, even with the cheater corners, it still looks nice.

Here's a shot of the sink and mirror - sorry for the glare - hard to shoot a good photo at this angle.

I would love to get a gold mirror in here. I saw this one on One Kings Lane last week:

The other thing I like about the new color, is that it's a better contrast with the Palladian Blue (Benjamin Moore) that I have in the hallway. Before, the colors were too similar to one another, and didn't gel the way I thought they would.

So yes, I did redo this space 18 months ago, but that's what this blog is all about, right? Here's how it's grown in the two short years that we've lived here.

Shortly after we moved in:

Robin's Egg blue with a pretty stencil:

Gentleman's Gray with a bold gallery wall:

The hardwood flooring installation starts today, and if you follow me on Facebook (yes my blog has finally gone social), you saw that my house is a total chaos zone right now. I'm really looking forward to getting things back in order. And since we're gluttons for punishment, we started the fireplace makeover as well. I'm nervously optimistic - it's just something totally different for us, and the biggest issue is that we want to preserve the tile work in case we decide to go back to the old look at some point. So, that makes it a wee bit tricky.

Lots on the docket this week folks! And, the best thing about today is that it's my 18th wedding anniversary! :-)

Awww happy anniversary! Hope you are doing something special to celebrate. Making sneaking in a Monday glass of wine together or something!

The bathroom looks beautiful in the blue! I love the depth of that color! I haven't picked up a sample pint of it yet but am planning on doing so this week. Thanks for inspiring yet again!

And the gallery wall looks amazing! Totally digging how it extends the full length of the wall. One more thing: the compound miter saw doesn't solve the crown molding mitering issue. Apparently it's a complete miracle if the corners ever come out perfectly, according to my brother who is a carpenter. That's what caulking is for :) Your corner pieces look great and the crown molding adds so much to the space I think!

Love it. It's gorgeous and there are some very pretty things to look at when you are in dispose. If you want a gold mirror you might consider spray painting the one you already have unless of course it is a very expensive piece. Just a thought.

I am so in love with your bathroom!!! I had a mini gallery in my old bathroom but I love the scale of this and on that color is stunning!!! Would you share where you got that awesome rug?? Thanks for sharing such wonderful pictures of your home! The hanging screw thing... Brilliant!!!!!

I absolutely love the new look! It is so much more interesting looking! Looks like its from a page out of a Nell Hills book! Great job! I love the dimension the new pieces added, and don't you love when happy accidents happen ( the key matching the rug pattern)? That's when you know you are going in the right direction!

The new wall color is stunning. I remember the robin's egg blue reveal - I'm partial to that one only because it's my favorite color. Love your gallery wall. You've really taken that room to a whole new level. I would love for you to link this up to my Fall into Fall party going on right now. Hope to see you there.

Bravo, for going with a "wow" statement in a small space. Afterall, people spend a considerable amount of time in that space right?But please share where you picked up that Pop O' Color rug, because who ever is selling that must have more fun items. THanks.

I'm in love -- the color, the paintings, the whole shebang! I had floor to ceiling paintings in my little powder room but just moved them into another room. Now my poor naked little bathroom needs a major makeover! Thinking about going bold myself!Kelly

Lovely. Simply. Lovely. I just finished my laundry room and am most unhappy with the color I selected. I might go Gentlemen Gray! Thank you for the hanging tip! Love that tip. This bath is by far the best. That would be a keeper.

Oh my gosh, I love it! I absolutely love the new dark shade of gray on the walls! It’s so classy and bold but not aggressive and stressful. I also like how the shades of the wall color darkened as you remodeled over the years. Dark tones are definitely the “in” thing these days for contemporary and modern-style interiors!

My name is Jenny, and I'm a recent corporate drop-out, mother of three, rookie photographer and marathon runner, married 19 years to a man with a big heart and an old soul.
My family is my passion, and I feel blessed that I am able to make our house a home.